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2018 Caracas drone attack

January 01, 1970

On 4 August 2018, two drones detonated explosives near Avenida Bolívar, Caracas, where Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was addressing the Bolivarian National Guard in front of the Centro Simón Bolívar Towers and Palacio de Justicia de Caracas.[3][4] The Venezuelan government claims the event was a targeted attempt to assassinate Maduro, though the cause and intention of the explosions is debated.[5][6] Others have suggested the incident was a false flag operation designed by the government to justify repression of opposition in Venezuela.[7][8][9]

Caracas drone attack
Part of the crisis in Venezuela
Venezuelan troops retreating from the area.
President Maduro
Don Eduardo
2018 Caracas drone attack (Central Caracas)
President Maduro
Don Eduardo
2018 Caracas drone attack (Caracas)
President Maduro
Don Eduardo
2018 Caracas drone attack (Venezuela)
LocationNear Avenida Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela
Date4 August 2018
5:41 p.m (VST UTC −04:00)
Weapons2–3 DJI M600 drones
Deaths0
Injured8–9 (7–8 military, 1 civilian)
Chargestreason, aggravated murder, attempted magnicide, inciting a riot, launching an explosive, terrorism, violent damage of property, conspiracy to commit a crime, financing terrorism;[1] detention of Juan Requesens[2]

Incident edit

Two small drones carrying explosives were detonated while President Maduro delivered an outdoor speech, possibly in attempt to attack the president and other government officials. The incident occurred in the middle of a speech he was giving commemorating the Bolivarian National Guard's 81st anniversary.[10] The first drone hovered over Avenida Bolivar (Bolivar Avenue), detonating in the air over National Guardsmen standing in ranks.[11][12] It was reported that seven National Guard officers involved in the parade were injured and treated in a hospital, other sources later claim it was eight.[10][13] After the explosion, bodyguards immediately protected Maduro with ballistic shields. Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who were standing next to him, left the scene unharmed.[4] A second explosion was then heard seconds later – hundreds of National Guardsmen fled the area, abandoning President Maduro,[14][15] and the broadcast of the event was cut.[4] Despite the images of National Guardsmen fleeing the scene that were broadcast to the public, Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez falsely stated that the troops maintained their ranks in the parade.[14]

A second drone crashed into the Don Eduardo apartment block, located two blocks from where Maduro was speaking.[16][17] Local journalists and residents shared images of smoke appearing from the apartment building's windows shortly after the incident.[18] A woman living in the building said that a drone had crashed into one of the building's windows, injuring a girl who was taken to hospital.[19]

Video footage shows two drones; amateur video of one drone exploding, a video showing few people in the area, and another video recorded by Telemundo cameraman Cesar Saavedra of a drone hitting the Don Eduardo apartment building.[16][20]

Many members of the press were arrested immediately after the incident, preventing independent investigations and reporting.[21] Reporters from VIVOplay and TVVenezuela were detained by National Guardsmen shortly after the incident.[22]

Investigation edit

Government edit

Initial edit

In a televised address to the nation two hours after the incident, Maduro stated that an investigation had been opened immediately and a number of those connected to the attack had been apprehended and charged.[10] Eleven journalists were detained during the attack and released afterwards.[23] Six other suspects were initially arrested within hours of the incident,[24] which later increased to seven.[25] Reportedly, one of these was known to authorities because of his involvement in the 2014 protests, whilst another had an arrest warrant out for apparently taking part in the assault on Fort Paramacay.[26]

President Maduro also laid blame on extreme right-wing elements in his own country acting together with extreme right-wing elements in neighbouring Colombia, and specifically named Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as being behind the incident. A spokesperson for President Santos promptly denied the accusations.[3] Maduro also suggested that Venezuelan exiles in the United States, particularly Miami, Florida, may have been involved.[3][17]

According to Interior Minister Néstor Reverol only two DJI M600 drones were used,[27] though Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez said that there were three drones used during the incident,[27] and the reason they failed to reach their target was that radio inhibitors made them lose signal.[28] Police at the scene had previously said that authorities shot down a drone.[citation needed] Following a brief initial two-day investigation, Reverol presented his findings and explained that the two drones he claimed were involved were loaded with over 4 lb (1.8 kg) combined of C4 plastic explosive, and that one was to be exploded above Maduro's head with the other was intended to explode directly in front of him.[17] In one presentation, Maduro showed debris that he said showed the drone by the stage was carrying gunpowder and lead, and that the drone that hit the building was loaded with C4 and gunpowder.[29]

On 6 August 2018, Prosecutor General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, announced that two individuals alleged to be the drone pilots were arrested and "will be charged with the crimes of treason and intentional homicide" in addition to other crimes.[30]

Post-arrests edit

 
Requesens holding his arm against SEBIN agents during arrest, while the camera is being turned away

Shortly after midnight VST on the morning of Tuesday, 7 August, Maduro said that he had "hard evidence" of "the Colombian oligarchy" planning the assassination, and that he would share it "in the next few hours".[31][32] Maduro announced in a video at the same time that they now knew that the perpetrators were trained during April and June 2018 in Chinácota in Norte de Santander, Colombia, an area which borders the north of Venezuela.[33][34] In this video he also said that he had been informed that Juan Manuel Santos had told former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that Maduro would be gone before he left office.[35] The promised report had not surfaced by the afternoon.

In the evening, Maduro gave a two-hour television presentation from Miraflores Palace[36] which included a partially-censored video of former Venezuelan security official Juan Carlos Monasterios Vanegas, who said he was one of the "bombers", giving a statement blaming Julio Borges and Juan Requesens.[citation needed] President Maduro directly accused opposition leaders Borges and Requesens of being behind the incident, also saying that Borges lived in a mansion in Bogotá that the outgoing Colombian government paid for, though no details of his "alleged role" were revealed.[36][37][38][39] During this time, agents belonging to the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Venezuela's intelligence agency, arrested Requesens and his sister, student leader Rafaela Requesens, though the latter was later released.[40][41] In the video, Monasterios claimed Requesens told him "to kill the President".[42]

As members of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Borges and Requesens received parliamentary immunity.[43] The arrest of Requesens was described as a violation of the Constitution of Venezuela, specifically Article 200 which states that "only the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, subject to authorization in advance from the National Assembly, shall have the power to order their arrest and prosecution".[43] However, Diosdado Cabello, president of the disparate Constituent National Assembly, said he would "introduce legislation" to strip them of the protections.[36][44] The protected status of the pair was then removed by the next day.[45]

In response to the accusations, Borges tweeted a statement from Bogotá telling Maduro that he was "not fooling anybody", calling the supposed attack a "farce" that Maduro "staged to justify the persecution of opponents".[44] Cabello responded to this, telling him to "go find some good lawyers".[42]

 
A DJI M600 drone, similar to the drone used during the incident

Maduro's evening presentation claimed that everyone involved in the attack was offered $50 million USD as well as United States citizenship status.[42] He also said that they had planned an attack on 5 July, which was postponed due to the drones not arriving on time.[42] Two of those who were arrested and named by Maduro as being involved and providing evidence were a Colombian, Rayder Russo, who was accused of being a planner and financier of the alleged attack, and an American, Osman Delgado, who was accused of being another financier.[33] Both Russo and Delgado were known by the Venezuelan resistance to be informants loyal to Maduro, with rebel leader Óscar Pérez previously revealing that the two were "moles" selling information to the Bolivarian government in December 2017.[46]

On Wednesday, 8 August, Saab said that investigators had so far connected nineteen people to the attack, and three had already been charged.[42][44] Maduro also named wanted individuals living in Colombia and the US state of Florida, saying he wanted cooperation from these two nations and that he "[trusts] in the good faith of Donald Trump".[36] On Thursday, 9 August, Reverol said that 25 people were under investigation, and Efecto Cocuyo reported that eight had been detained.[47][48] Though Borges and Requesens are leaders of the Justice First party, Reverol revealed that "the majority of the suspects are from the resistance group Come Venezuela" (sic).[49]

Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez gave a national presentation on 10 August announcing that at least one of the drones involved was detonated from the United States, though a report by The Independent that was warning of drone threats said this could be done "from 5 kilometres" away only,[50] as well as showing a supposed flight map of the drones path from Colombia all the way to Avenida Bolívar. Rodríguez also said that he had submitted a Red Notice to Interpol for the capture of "assassin" Julio Borges, and showed a video of Juan Requesens recorded in Helicoide.[51]

Raids and seizures edit

One announcement of alleged perpetrators by Reverol on Thursday, 9 August, included details of several properties that the investigation had seized. They were owned by Delgado, who was accused of helping to finance the attack. Two cars and an apartment in his name were also seized and raided.[47]

The SEBIN searched the Pestana Hotel, which is almost eight kilometers from the place of the incident, during the investigations of the events.[52] Caracas Chronicles reported that the homes of Juan Requesens, Julio Borges and other deputies, Julio Mora and Jorge Mora, had been raided.[unreliable source?][53][54]

Rafaela Requesens, Juan's sister and student President of the Central University of Venezuela, expressed her anger that at least forty SEBIN agents broke into their house, also saying that the government wanted to plant false evidence to incriminate her brother. On 7 August, the SEBIN also raided the house of students Valeria Sosa and Luis Alfredo Sosa, from Andrés Bello Catholic University and Simón Bolívar University, respectively, and whose mother is accused of being involved in the drone attack. Roberto Rodríguez, a student leader at Andrés Bello, denounced that the raid was done without a search warrant, that the electricity was cut off from the building, that many belongings in the house were stolen, and that the family were forced to escape.[55]

Requesens videos edit

Main article: Detention of Juan Requesens
External videos
  Requesens in what appears to be underwear covered in faeces on YouTube

During his 10 August presentation, Rodríguez showed a video of Requesens allegedly admitting to working with people involved in the supposed attack. In the video, Requesens named several of the suspects, including Borges, though this was limited to him saying that Borges "asked [him] for a favour to help a person get from Venezuela to Colombia". He added that this person was Monasterios and that they had written to Mauricio Jiménez, an immigration official in Colombia, for help with getting passage, who immediately offered it. Requesens gave no details relating to an attack on Maduro.[56] The opposition condemned Rodríguez's actions, saying that Requesens was drugged and tortured into making a false confession. One source from Requesens' Justice First party assured journalists that the government drugged Requesens to obtain confessions and, when they realised he was still of sound mind, then continued to drug him until he became incontinent, as well as threatening to murder his parents and rape his sister. In a second video, Requesens is wearing only underwear which is visibly stained with faeces.[unreliable source?][53][57] Following the release of the videos, Requesens was moved from being held at the prison of SEBIN, El Helicoide, to the Palacio de Justicia.[58] After five hours, he was returned to Helicoide with his hearing deferred and being denied to see his lawyer.[unreliable source?][53]

Health professionals discussed the behavior of Requesens in the videos broadcast to the public. National Assembly deputy and doctor José Manuel Olivares stated that "[t]he clinical signs of Juan Requesens show that there is an alteration of cognitive conditions, which is clinically associated with the administration of drugs that affect the conscience or the will". An independent Venezuelan psychologist, Alberto Barradas, also observed his behavior, stating in a "subjective conclusion" that Requesens appears "drugged, beaten, threatened", later saying "[a]s a Venezuelan, I think we are outraged to see the images of a deputy full of faeces, of excrement, knowing he was tortured. I believe that as Venezuelans we must feel anger, pain and indignation".[59] In a moment of protest and solidarity with Requesens, Venezuelans demonstrated in public while wearing underwear to share moral support for Requesens, who was seen in the government's video wearing underwear covered in faeces.[60]

Though he was originally transferred to the court building on 10 August, Requesens' hearing was deferred to Monday, 13 August.[unreliable source?][53][61] This hearing went ahead, lasting two days, and on Tuesday, 14 August he was denied bail.[62] He was remanded in custody after being charged with seven crimes against Maduro and the State, to go on trial and face Venezuela's maximum punishment of 30 years in prison.[2][63][64]

On 12 August, the government shared a third video of Requesens which it said was part of his confession. In the video Requesens said that he briefly had telephone contact with a man who identified himself as "Alexander", who confirmed that Monasterios had got to Colombia.[65]

At his hearing, Requesens told his lawyer, Joel García, that he did not remember recording a confession video or any of the people he named. Requesens also told García that guards gave him the stained underwear to "mock him". None of the videos were submitted as evidence.[66][67][68][69][70]

Further arrests edit

On 10 August, SEBIN arrested Luis Enrique Martínez Rico, the Coordinator of Security and Defense Commission of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the government's political party. Reports stated that Martínez was arrested due to his alleged involvement in the incident.[71] Colonel Garcia Palomo said in a 13 August statement delivered to La Patilla that "I have no connection with the events that took place in Caracas on 4 August, through the use of drones or the people who they abused, whom I do not know" (sic).[72]

On 14 August, the number of suspects had increased to 34, fourteen of whom had been charged, with Saab saying it could rise further.[73][74] It was also announced that Venezuela were now formally seeking extradition of suspects from Peru,[74] with the government having issued 27 international arrest warrants to Interpol, as well as requesting account blocks and asset freezing for Osman Delgado and Julio Borges.[75] On 22 August, the numbers of those implicated by the government rose again, Saab saying that 25 people had been charged with 43 total suspects involved. The previous Sunday he had named several of these extra suspects, and announced that there were now only 18 Interpol alerts out, with nine extradition orders between Colombia, the US, and Peru.[76]

Cabello accused another deputy of the National Assembly, Ismael García, of being involved in the "conspiracy" on 15 August.[77] García was a member of Primero Justicia with Borges and Requesens until he ran for candidacy with Acción Democrática on 10 August.[78] García had been reportedly attracted the government's attention in the days before this, along with José Manuel Olivares, who had recently been forced into exile.[79]

Maduro said during one speech that he knew that the attackers "were planning a transitional government" and that current politicians were intended to lead it.[80]

Independent edit

One early independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano alternatively claimed that "at least one drone belonged to the military", and that a drone was "shot", blaming the government but indicating that it would be unintentional.[3]

Some investigative journalism reports began appearing. Citizen journalism organization Bellingcat stated that two drones "likely" armed with explosives were involved and that "[d]espite apparent claims from one group, it is not possible to accurately attribute this apparent attack without further information".[81]

Though various bodies and countries asked for an independent investigation to be performed in Venezuela, the practice of censorship in the nation prevented this from happening. One of the leading independent investigatory organisations in Venezuela, Armando.Info, was completely blocked in August 2018, with four of its writers also having travel restrictions imposed, barring them from leaving.[unreliable source?][82]

On 14 March 2019, CNN revealed new details about the plot, based on new videos.[83][84][85]

Responsibility claims edit

Responsibility for the attacks "has been claimed by a confusing array of spokesmen", including groups named "The Resistance", "T-shirt Soldiers" and the "Phoenix Group".[86]

A group named Soldados de Franelas ("T-shirt Soldiers") claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.[12][87] Another group, called Operación Fénix ("Operation Phoenix"), made vague claims on Twitter, accusing the Maduro government of being involved in drug trafficking and stating that they sought to restore democracy in Venezuela.[14] Three hours after the attack, Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo read a press release on her own YouTube channel from Miami, saying that militants from the Fénix group claimed the attack.[88] Different sources have variously claimed both groups as having connections to the Venezuelan rebel leader Óscar Pérez, who had been killed by Venezuelan government armed forces in the El Junquito raid.[15][18]

Salvatore Lucchese, a former Chief of Police of San Diego Municipality, Carabobo and former member of the Popular Will opposition party, claimed in an interview with Reuters in Bogotá that he largely organized the events, adding that the "armed struggle" would continue and "no dictator leaves power peacefully".[89] On the evening of 7 August, Maduro referred to this claim, telling the people in his two-hour national broadcast that "[a] former police boss of the Venezuelan right has been claiming responsibility for leading the attack. Today he was a special guest at the swearing-in of Colombia's incoming president".[90] The day after, Lucchese tweeted that he "didn’t do anything" and was "one more soldier fighting for freedom".[unreliable source?][29]

On his Spanish-language talk show, Bayly, Peruvian-American journalist Jaime Bayly claimed that he had known about the attack during the week before and he supported it. He warned that there would be more attacks coming up.[91]

A man who said he was a military dissident said that he had been part of a group of similar dissenters from all branches of the Venezuelan armed forces plotting a coup in Bogotá to overthrow the Maduro government, but had no plans of assassination and were not involved in the attack on 4 August, having been infiltrated and disseminated some weeks before. Instead, he says that in April a group of civilians approached his group wanting to join forces and kill Maduro, and he believes they will have performed the attack because of videos they showed of armed drones in Miami. Bloomberg gives credence to this account because of the lack of organisation that the attack appeared to have.[92]

Suspects and arrests edit

See also: Detention of Juan Requesens and Fernando Albán Salazar
 
Néstor Reverol shares information on the suspects

Maduro and Reverol, acting as the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace, released the names of wanted people that informants named as committing the attack. The full names and photos of these people were released on wanted posters in Venezuela. El Nacional reported fifteen names on the afternoon of Thursday, 9 August. Diario Panorama and other news sources reported the addition of more names before the end of the day, and several more suspects were named and arrests were made in the following week.[39][47][64][75][76][93]

On 31 August, the family of Juan Requesens went to the International Red Cross to give them information about the medical conditions of Requesens. Here, they also spoke to the media there about the other people also incarcerated, who were likely experiencing the same treatment, and noted that several of those prisoners had not even been to court.[94] Requesens' lawyer, Joel García, also mentioned his concern for the other prisoners. The sister of Colonel Zambrano said at this time that her brother had not been seen by family or lawyers, either, and that guards had told her he wouldn't be available for thirty days. She was also concerned for the colonel's health, because his custodians had been requesting antibiotics, serums, and diuretics for him. A lawyer representing several of those accused of the attack said she had not been given access to any of them or their files.[95]

Another Justice First deputy, Fernando Albán, was later arrested on suspicion of plotting the magnicide on Friday, 5 October. He was detained in the SEBIN HQ also, but was reported dead the following Monday, 8 October. Government officials claimed it was suicide, which was disputed.[96] his friends, family, opposition political parties and Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, argue that the councilor's death was murder.[97][98][99]

Reactions edit

Domestic edit

 
Press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly

The Venezuelan government referred to the incident as a "terrorist attack".[100][101] A press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly, written by Diosdado Cabello, said that they "fiercely condemn the vile and cowardly attack against the constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and that the "act of terrorism shows the hopelessness and frustration of the fascist right", also expressing solidarity with "the patriotic soldiers who were injured".[102] The leading opposition group in Venezuela, Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre ("Venezuelan Liberation Front"), expressed confusion as to the nature of the incident, saying that they can't know if it was "an attack, a fortuitous accident, or any of the other stories being shared on social media".[103]

Two days after the explosions, on Monday 6 August, Maduro supporters rallied in downtown Caracas, waving flags and with painted faces. However, Reuters reporters on the scene said that there were only a few hundred people, most of whom were government workers, and with several telling the journalists that they had been instructed to attend to support Maduro's image.[104]

There was immediate outcry among the opposition in the nation after Cabello incited a move to strip supposed plotters and National Assemblymen Julio Borges and Juan Requesens of their diplomatic immunity. The National Assembly Vice President Julio César Reyes [es] spoke out against the move, saying that the "constitution is clear" and "only the Supreme Court of Justice has the authority to order a deputy's arrest, with congressional approval".[44] On 9 August, the National Assembly – Venezuela's parliament – requested that other nations ignore the arrest warrant on Borges, saying that it was "political in nature and should not be recognised by any foreign court".[105]

Chavista politician Sergio Sánchez reported that people voicing anti-Maduro sentiment in the wake of the attack were being punished, citing a family from Ciudad Tiuna [es] in Caracas who were "evicted [...] for making a political comment about the attack against the President", adding that the government now "relies on the fear of the people to maintain power".[106]

Following the release of a video of opposition leader Juan Requesens giving statements wearing underwear stained with faeces, Venezuelans protested in the streets wearing underwear in a statement of moral support for Requesens.[60] A group brought some of Requesens' t-shirts as an offering for his release among other tributes for political prisoners during a mass service held in San Cristóbal, the capital of his home state Táchira.[107] The Bar Association of Venezuela [es] released a statement condemning the arrest and imprisonment of Requesens, saying it was "arbitrary and illegal", campaigning for the government to release him and naming "numerous and gravely serious objections" to his imprisonment, with the worst being the "obscene, protuberant, impudent and even boastful [...] dissemination of [Requesens'] alleged self-incrimination", saying that they will seek action against the government and aim to prosecute those at fault "once the Rule of Law has been restored to our beloved Venezuela".[108] The opposition deputy Gilber Caro stood in front of the National Assembly on 14 August and stripped to his underwear to send support to Requesens. He said that a man's dignity is not dependent on his state of dress.[109]

On the Monday 13 August, a protest march called "La Patria Llama" ("The Fatherland Calls") was held starting at the edge of Petare, Miranda and travelled through the Greater Caracas area to Parque Carabobo station. It was organised by Cabello for supporters of the Maduro government who want to "bring to justice the extremists", Cabello adding that these people "would have to kill millions of Venezuelans" to change the country.[110]

International edit

The attack was condemned by the governments of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Bolivia, as well as the FARC, a former revolutionary group from Colombia.[111] Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel further announced that his nation would supply unlimited aid to Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution.[112] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Maduro, giving his best wishes to the President and to the soldiers injured in the incident.[113]

Uruguay and Spain both denounced the violence.[114] The Spanish embassy also said that the crisis in Venezuela should be solved peacefully and democratically.[115] Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela stated "that accusing former President Santos is irresponsible of President Maduro" and that "on one hand we condemn violence, but on the other hand we also condemn the fact that they are making baseless accusations against heads of state".[116] Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, stated that "[t]he null credibility of the Maduro regime prevents knowing the truth of what happened" and reiterated that he "will always condemn the use of violence as a political tool".[117]

A Brazilian court case was ongoing regarding the travel of Venezuelan migrants across the Brazil-Venezuela border, and it was closed on Sunday 5 August, the day after the attack, with Judge Helder Barreto suspending restrictions but closing the border to Venezuelans until stability was achieved on both sides.[118] It was reopened shortly after the official bar, with the Brazilian Supreme Court saying the move was too reactionary and "not justified", commentators connecting the closure with an already strained situation gaining further "raised tensions" after the drone incident.[119]

The European Union promoted a "thorough and transparent investigation" and demanded the Venezuelan government to recognize "the constitutional powers of the National Assembly, including full respect for its prerogatives with respect to the parliamentary immunity of its members in accordance with the rights, legislation and established constitutional procedures". The Venezuelan government condemned the European Union's response, stating that it is "trapped in its irrational rhetoric" and that the European body intends to "ignore the terrorist actions".[120] Vice President of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Beatriz Becerra, condemned the arrest of Juan Requesens, stating "Kidnapped, tortured, humiliated. [Juan Requesens] [a]n elected deputy. With all the constitutional guarantees abolished in Venezuela by a dictatorial regime. Please, Federica Mogherini and Antonio Tajani let's fulfill our commitment with a winner of the Sakharov Prize".[121] The Federal Foreign Office of Germany condemned the arrest of Requesens calling it a "clear violation of parliamentary immunity" and demanded a "thorough and transparent investigation".[122]

Colombia edit

 
Juan Manuel Santos (left) in April 2018. At the time of the attack, Santos was the President of Colombia.

The earliest and most prominent of blame accusations were those levelled against Colombia, with Maduro specifically naming the Colombian President Santos as orchestrating his assassination, saying he had "no doubt" about it.[123] The Colombian government quickly denied this, stating that Santos was too preoccupied with his granddaughter's baptism to think about overthrowing Maduro.[3] Another statement added that it is "customary for Maduro to blame Colombia for any kind of problem in his country", and on the following Monday Santos himself tweeted to Maduro telling him "not to worry himself", also restating his own attendance at the "more important" baptism on the Saturday.[124]

Two days after the incident, on Monday, 6 August, the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority announced a ban on drones and multirotors at the Presidential procession for Iván Duque's inauguration the next day over fears of a similar incident, with the prohibition extending to a radius and altitude of 2 nautical miles, or 12,000 feet, from Plaza Bolívar, Bogotá.[125] There were no drone attacks on the day, but it saw other attacks by FARC dissidents in which a police officer died and five people were injured.[126]

United States edit

 
US representatives Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley (left) in June 2018

In response to Maduro's accusations, the US National Security Advisor, John R. Bolton, denied US involvement in the attack and suggested that the incident could be "a pretext set up by the regime itself".[24] Bolton also stated that if the Venezuelan government "has hard information that they want to present to [the US] that would show a potential violation of U.S. criminal law, [they'll] take a serious look at it."[12] On Monday, 6 August, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo restated that the United States government had no involvement.[124]

Telemundo reported that the US embassy told its citizens in Venezuela to "find a safe place to stay, maintain a low profile, and avoid protests".[127] James Story, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Caracas, met with Saab and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in the week following the incident.[44] Arreaza told Fox News that Story said it was "the will of the U.S. government to cooperate".[128]

In response to the United States stating it would cooperate, Maduro said he would allow the FBI to investigate the incident, saying that if "the United States ratifies its offering for the FBI to cooperate in the investigations on the links in Florida [regarding] the plans of the 4 August assassination attempt and terrorist attack, [he] would accept it".[100]

The United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was visiting the Colombian-Venezuelan border at Cúcuta on Wednesday, 8 August, to discuss the migrant crisis, and commented that Maduro had caused the attack, that "he did this by creating this chaos" and that "everyone needs to be loud against Maduro and force him to leave".[129][130] She also pledged US$9 million in aid to Colombia to help support the Venezuelan migrants there.[131]

Others edit

The Venezuelan Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent-winning satirical news site El Chigüire Bipolar posted an article the day after the detention of Juan Requesens showing a photoshopped image of Maduro holding a pokeball with the headline "Nicol-ash Maduro announces open season on capture of political prisoners", likening him to the character Ash from Pokémon who has the mission to "catch them all". The site attributed the fictional quote "We are going to catch them all, the 150 deputies that are out there, we already have Requesens, now we are going after Borges and Meowth of Team Rocket" to "Nicol-ash".[132]

Controversy edit

Assassination legitimacy edit

The Guardian reported that the allegations made by Maduro were "too neat" and quoted commentators who doubt the assassination legitimacy. International Crisis Group consultant Phil Gunson stated that "[t]he official 'investigation' [is following course]: begin with the conclusions and work backwards", and senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America David Smilde added that "[Maduro will] use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces".[18]

Peruvian newspaper La República also wrote that "[s]ome analysts suspect that the attack is a desperate farce" and that "[i]t would not be the first time that an unscrupulous government mounted this type of setup," comparing it to the burning of the Reichstag. The paper concluded that, "genuine attack or mounted farce, basically it does not matter: Maduro has taken things to this point, which suggests bloody outcomes".[9]

The German international news service Deutsche Welle said that the only certainty about the attack is that "[t]he only one benefitting from all this is Maduro himself", noting that the President "has claimed at least 20 coups or attacks against him, but not a single one has done him harm". They called the incident "'fake news'" because "[Maduro's] regime emerges from every actual or supposed attack stronger than before", relating this to the crisis in Venezuela by saying that "[e]ach incident further distracts from increasingly unbearable problems in the country".[133]

Firefighter narrative edit

According to initial reports after the explosion, the Associated Press stated that firefighters attended the scene and claimed that a gas tank located in the Don Eduardo apartment block had exploded during the rally, the explosion caught part of the building on fire and had to be put out.[134] An independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano did conclude, in regards to drone explosions, that "[t]he nearby building explosion was coincidental."[3]

Efecto Cocuyo visited the building and reported that all apartments received piped gas, which does not require gas tanks. They could not say if there was also a gas tank.[135] Video later provided by Telemundo appeared to show a drone crash into the side of the apartment building.[16] Days after the event, Bellingcat's investigation stated that the report by firefighters was an "early narrative" and that a "second drone crashed and exploded [...] and is the most likely cause of the fire which the Venezuelan firefighters described".[81]

Use of drones edit

Media outlets in Spain and Ecuador quoted a soldier in the rally who claimed he saw no drones, but heard something "like a grenade". El País says Maduro's version of events is not credible.[136] Former Venezuelan military aide Anthony Daquin talked to NTN24 about the incident and criticised the assassination theory, explaining that the event was a no-fly zone and any drones in the area would have been operated by the government.[citation needed]

Another theory was that an accidental drone failure caused the incident. The Guardian reported that an independent investigation had been opened by the NGO Control Ciudadano and its head Rocío San Miguel, a military expert, which claimed that "at least one drone belonged to the military, who lost control of the device inflight. Soldiers then shot it down."[3][137] She repeated this statement later in a broadcast of Con La Luz with Efecto Cocuyo on 9 August, saying that "it was a mistake by the military and Presidential Honor Guard, and I believe that they destroyed the drones".[106]

According to former Venezuelan Vice Admiral Mario Carratu, claims that the drones were shot down by gunfire is inaccurate because "[p]lastic explosives can't be detonated with bullets. They more likely exploded prematurely due to poor preparations by the hit team".[86]

The Venezuelan ambassador to Barbados spoke on 7 August, saying that drones are actually completely banned in Venezuela.[138] In one of Maduro's television presentations, he said that the drone that exploded at the stage was loaded with gunpowder and lead, not C4, but the one that hit the building had gunpowder and C4.[29]

See also edit

References edit

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January 01, 1970
2018, caracas, drone, attack, august, 2018, drones, detonated, explosives, near, avenida, bolívar, caracas, where, nicolás, maduro, president, venezuela, addressing, bolivarian, national, guard, front, centro, simón, bolívar, towers, palacio, justicia, caracas. On 4 August 2018 two drones detonated explosives near Avenida Bolivar Caracas where Nicolas Maduro the President of Venezuela was addressing the Bolivarian National Guard in front of the Centro Simon Bolivar Towers and Palacio de Justicia de Caracas 3 4 The Venezuelan government claims the event was a targeted attempt to assassinate Maduro though the cause and intention of the explosions is debated 5 6 Others have suggested the incident was a false flag operation designed by the government to justify repression of opposition in Venezuela 7 8 9 Caracas drone attackPart of the crisis in VenezuelaVenezuelan troops retreating from the area President MaduroDon Eduardo2018 Caracas drone attack Central Caracas Show map of Central CaracasPresident MaduroDon Eduardo2018 Caracas drone attack Caracas Show map of CaracasPresident MaduroDon Eduardo2018 Caracas drone attack Venezuela Show map of VenezuelaLocationNear Avenida Bolivar Caracas VenezuelaDate4 August 2018 5 41 p m VST UTC 04 00 Weapons2 3 DJI M600 dronesDeaths0Injured8 9 7 8 military 1 civilian Chargestreason aggravated murder attempted magnicide inciting a riot launching an explosive terrorism violent damage of property conspiracy to commit a crime financing terrorism 1 detention of Juan Requesens 2 Contents 1 Incident 2 Investigation 2 1 Government 2 1 1 Initial 2 1 2 Post arrests 2 1 3 Raids and seizures 2 1 4 Requesens videos 2 1 5 Further arrests 2 2 Independent 3 Responsibility claims 4 Suspects and arrests 5 Reactions 5 1 Domestic 5 2 International 5 2 1 Colombia 5 2 2 United States 5 3 Others 6 Controversy 6 1 Assassination legitimacy 6 2 Firefighter narrative 6 3 Use of drones 7 See also 8 ReferencesIncident editTwo small drones carrying explosives were detonated while President Maduro delivered an outdoor speech possibly in attempt to attack the president and other government officials The incident occurred in the middle of a speech he was giving commemorating the Bolivarian National Guard s 81st anniversary 10 The first drone hovered over Avenida Bolivar Bolivar Avenue detonating in the air over National Guardsmen standing in ranks 11 12 It was reported that seven National Guard officers involved in the parade were injured and treated in a hospital other sources later claim it was eight 10 13 After the explosion bodyguards immediately protected Maduro with ballistic shields Maduro his wife Cilia Flores and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez who were standing next to him left the scene unharmed 4 A second explosion was then heard seconds later hundreds of National Guardsmen fled the area abandoning President Maduro 14 15 and the broadcast of the event was cut 4 Despite the images of National Guardsmen fleeing the scene that were broadcast to the public Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez falsely stated that the troops maintained their ranks in the parade 14 A second drone crashed into the Don Eduardo apartment block located two blocks from where Maduro was speaking 16 17 Local journalists and residents shared images of smoke appearing from the apartment building s windows shortly after the incident 18 A woman living in the building said that a drone had crashed into one of the building s windows injuring a girl who was taken to hospital 19 Video footage shows two drones amateur video of one drone exploding a video showing few people in the area and another video recorded by Telemundo cameraman Cesar Saavedra of a drone hitting the Don Eduardo apartment building 16 20 Many members of the press were arrested immediately after the incident preventing independent investigations and reporting 21 Reporters from VIVOplay and TVVenezuela were detained by National Guardsmen shortly after the incident 22 Investigation editGovernment edit Initial edit In a televised address to the nation two hours after the incident Maduro stated that an investigation had been opened immediately and a number of those connected to the attack had been apprehended and charged 10 Eleven journalists were detained during the attack and released afterwards 23 Six other suspects were initially arrested within hours of the incident 24 which later increased to seven 25 Reportedly one of these was known to authorities because of his involvement in the 2014 protests whilst another had an arrest warrant out for apparently taking part in the assault on Fort Paramacay 26 President Maduro also laid blame on extreme right wing elements in his own country acting together with extreme right wing elements in neighbouring Colombia and specifically named Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as being behind the incident A spokesperson for President Santos promptly denied the accusations 3 Maduro also suggested that Venezuelan exiles in the United States particularly Miami Florida may have been involved 3 17 According to Interior Minister Nestor Reverol only two DJI M600 drones were used 27 though Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez said that there were three drones used during the incident 27 and the reason they failed to reach their target was that radio inhibitors made them lose signal 28 Police at the scene had previously said that authorities shot down a drone citation needed Following a brief initial two day investigation Reverol presented his findings and explained that the two drones he claimed were involved were loaded with over 4 lb 1 8 kg combined of C4 plastic explosive and that one was to be exploded above Maduro s head with the other was intended to explode directly in front of him 17 In one presentation Maduro showed debris that he said showed the drone by the stage was carrying gunpowder and lead and that the drone that hit the building was loaded with C4 and gunpowder 29 On 6 August 2018 Prosecutor General of Venezuela Tarek William Saab announced that two individuals alleged to be the drone pilots were arrested and will be charged with the crimes of treason and intentional homicide in addition to other crimes 30 Post arrests edit nbsp Requesens holding his arm against SEBIN agents during arrest while the camera is being turned away Shortly after midnight VST on the morning of Tuesday 7 August Maduro said that he had hard evidence of the Colombian oligarchy planning the assassination and that he would share it in the next few hours 31 32 Maduro announced in a video at the same time that they now knew that the perpetrators were trained during April and June 2018 in Chinacota in Norte de Santander Colombia an area which borders the north of Venezuela 33 34 In this video he also said that he had been informed that Juan Manuel Santos had told former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that Maduro would be gone before he left office 35 The promised report had not surfaced by the afternoon In the evening Maduro gave a two hour television presentation from Miraflores Palace 36 which included a partially censored video of former Venezuelan security official Juan Carlos Monasterios Vanegas who said he was one of the bombers giving a statement blaming Julio Borges and Juan Requesens citation needed President Maduro directly accused opposition leaders Borges and Requesens of being behind the incident also saying that Borges lived in a mansion in Bogota that the outgoing Colombian government paid for though no details of his alleged role were revealed 36 37 38 39 During this time agents belonging to the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service SEBIN Venezuela s intelligence agency arrested Requesens and his sister student leader Rafaela Requesens though the latter was later released 40 41 In the video Monasterios claimed Requesens told him to kill the President 42 As members of the Venezuelan National Assembly Borges and Requesens received parliamentary immunity 43 The arrest of Requesens was described as a violation of the Constitution of Venezuela specifically Article 200 which states that only the Supreme Tribunal of Justice subject to authorization in advance from the National Assembly shall have the power to order their arrest and prosecution 43 However Diosdado Cabello president of the disparate Constituent National Assembly said he would introduce legislation to strip them of the protections 36 44 The protected status of the pair was then removed by the next day 45 In response to the accusations Borges tweeted a statement from Bogota telling Maduro that he was not fooling anybody calling the supposed attack a farce that Maduro staged to justify the persecution of opponents 44 Cabello responded to this telling him to go find some good lawyers 42 nbsp A DJI M600 drone similar to the drone used during the incidentMaduro s evening presentation claimed that everyone involved in the attack was offered 50 million USD as well as United States citizenship status 42 He also said that they had planned an attack on 5 July which was postponed due to the drones not arriving on time 42 Two of those who were arrested and named by Maduro as being involved and providing evidence were a Colombian Rayder Russo who was accused of being a planner and financier of the alleged attack and an American Osman Delgado who was accused of being another financier 33 Both Russo and Delgado were known by the Venezuelan resistance to be informants loyal to Maduro with rebel leader oscar Perez previously revealing that the two were moles selling information to the Bolivarian government in December 2017 46 On Wednesday 8 August Saab said that investigators had so far connected nineteen people to the attack and three had already been charged 42 44 Maduro also named wanted individuals living in Colombia and the US state of Florida saying he wanted cooperation from these two nations and that he trusts in the good faith of Donald Trump 36 On Thursday 9 August Reverol said that 25 people were under investigation and Efecto Cocuyo reported that eight had been detained 47 48 Though Borges and Requesens are leaders of the Justice First party Reverol revealed that the majority of the suspects are from the resistance group Come Venezuela sic 49 Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez gave a national presentation on 10 August announcing that at least one of the drones involved was detonated from the United States though a report by The Independent that was warning of drone threats said this could be done from 5 kilometres away only 50 as well as showing a supposed flight map of the drones path from Colombia all the way to Avenida Bolivar Rodriguez also said that he had submitted a Red Notice to Interpol for the capture of assassin Julio Borges and showed a video of Juan Requesens recorded in Helicoide 51 Raids and seizures edit One announcement of alleged perpetrators by Reverol on Thursday 9 August included details of several properties that the investigation had seized They were owned by Delgado who was accused of helping to finance the attack Two cars and an apartment in his name were also seized and raided 47 The SEBIN searched the Pestana Hotel which is almost eight kilometers from the place of the incident during the investigations of the events 52 Caracas Chronicles reported that the homes of Juan Requesens Julio Borges and other deputies Julio Mora and Jorge Mora had been raided unreliable source 53 54 Rafaela Requesens Juan s sister and student President of the Central University of Venezuela expressed her anger that at least forty SEBIN agents broke into their house also saying that the government wanted to plant false evidence to incriminate her brother On 7 August the SEBIN also raided the house of students Valeria Sosa and Luis Alfredo Sosa from Andres Bello Catholic University and Simon Bolivar University respectively and whose mother is accused of being involved in the drone attack Roberto Rodriguez a student leader at Andres Bello denounced that the raid was done without a search warrant that the electricity was cut off from the building that many belongings in the house were stolen and that the family were forced to escape 55 Requesens videos edit Main article Detention of Juan Requesens External videos nbsp Requesens in what appears to be underwear covered in faeces on YouTubeDuring his 10 August presentation Rodriguez showed a video of Requesens allegedly admitting to working with people involved in the supposed attack In the video Requesens named several of the suspects including Borges though this was limited to him saying that Borges asked him for a favour to help a person get from Venezuela to Colombia He added that this person was Monasterios and that they had written to Mauricio Jimenez an immigration official in Colombia for help with getting passage who immediately offered it Requesens gave no details relating to an attack on Maduro 56 The opposition condemned Rodriguez s actions saying that Requesens was drugged and tortured into making a false confession One source from Requesens Justice First party assured journalists that the government drugged Requesens to obtain confessions and when they realised he was still of sound mind then continued to drug him until he became incontinent as well as threatening to murder his parents and rape his sister In a second video Requesens is wearing only underwear which is visibly stained with faeces unreliable source 53 57 Following the release of the videos Requesens was moved from being held at the prison of SEBIN El Helicoide to the Palacio de Justicia 58 After five hours he was returned to Helicoide with his hearing deferred and being denied to see his lawyer unreliable source 53 Health professionals discussed the behavior of Requesens in the videos broadcast to the public National Assembly deputy and doctor Jose Manuel Olivares stated that t he clinical signs of Juan Requesens show that there is an alteration of cognitive conditions which is clinically associated with the administration of drugs that affect the conscience or the will An independent Venezuelan psychologist Alberto Barradas also observed his behavior stating in a subjective conclusion that Requesens appears drugged beaten threatened later saying a s a Venezuelan I think we are outraged to see the images of a deputy full of faeces of excrement knowing he was tortured I believe that as Venezuelans we must feel anger pain and indignation 59 In a moment of protest and solidarity with Requesens Venezuelans demonstrated in public while wearing underwear to share moral support for Requesens who was seen in the government s video wearing underwear covered in faeces 60 Though he was originally transferred to the court building on 10 August Requesens hearing was deferred to Monday 13 August unreliable source 53 61 This hearing went ahead lasting two days and on Tuesday 14 August he was denied bail 62 He was remanded in custody after being charged with seven crimes against Maduro and the State to go on trial and face Venezuela s maximum punishment of 30 years in prison 2 63 64 On 12 August the government shared a third video of Requesens which it said was part of his confession In the video Requesens said that he briefly had telephone contact with a man who identified himself as Alexander who confirmed that Monasterios had got to Colombia 65 At his hearing Requesens told his lawyer Joel Garcia that he did not remember recording a confession video or any of the people he named Requesens also told Garcia that guards gave him the stained underwear to mock him None of the videos were submitted as evidence 66 67 68 69 70 Further arrests edit On 10 August SEBIN arrested Luis Enrique Martinez Rico the Coordinator of Security and Defense Commission of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela PSUV the government s political party Reports stated that Martinez was arrested due to his alleged involvement in the incident 71 Colonel Garcia Palomo said in a 13 August statement delivered to La Patilla that I have no connection with the events that took place in Caracas on 4 August through the use of drones or the people who they abused whom I do not know sic 72 On 14 August the number of suspects had increased to 34 fourteen of whom had been charged with Saab saying it could rise further 73 74 It was also announced that Venezuela were now formally seeking extradition of suspects from Peru 74 with the government having issued 27 international arrest warrants to Interpol as well as requesting account blocks and asset freezing for Osman Delgado and Julio Borges 75 On 22 August the numbers of those implicated by the government rose again Saab saying that 25 people had been charged with 43 total suspects involved The previous Sunday he had named several of these extra suspects and announced that there were now only 18 Interpol alerts out with nine extradition orders between Colombia the US and Peru 76 Cabello accused another deputy of the National Assembly Ismael Garcia of being involved in the conspiracy on 15 August 77 Garcia was a member of Primero Justicia with Borges and Requesens until he ran for candidacy with Accion Democratica on 10 August 78 Garcia had been reportedly attracted the government s attention in the days before this along with Jose Manuel Olivares who had recently been forced into exile 79 Maduro said during one speech that he knew that the attackers were planning a transitional government and that current politicians were intended to lead it 80 Independent edit One early independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano alternatively claimed that at least one drone belonged to the military and that a drone was shot blaming the government but indicating that it would be unintentional 3 Some investigative journalism reports began appearing Citizen journalism organization Bellingcat stated that two drones likely armed with explosives were involved and that d espite apparent claims from one group it is not possible to accurately attribute this apparent attack without further information 81 Though various bodies and countries asked for an independent investigation to be performed in Venezuela the practice of censorship in the nation prevented this from happening One of the leading independent investigatory organisations in Venezuela Armando Info was completely blocked in August 2018 with four of its writers also having travel restrictions imposed barring them from leaving unreliable source 82 On 14 March 2019 CNN revealed new details about the plot based on new videos 83 84 85 Responsibility claims editResponsibility for the attacks has been claimed by a confusing array of spokesmen including groups named The Resistance T shirt Soldiers and the Phoenix Group 86 A group named Soldados de Franelas T shirt Soldiers claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter 12 87 Another group called Operacion Fenix Operation Phoenix made vague claims on Twitter accusing the Maduro government of being involved in drug trafficking and stating that they sought to restore democracy in Venezuela 14 Three hours after the attack Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo read a press release on her own YouTube channel from Miami saying that militants from the Fenix group claimed the attack 88 Different sources have variously claimed both groups as having connections to the Venezuelan rebel leader oscar Perez who had been killed by Venezuelan government armed forces in the El Junquito raid 15 18 Salvatore Lucchese a former Chief of Police of San Diego Municipality Carabobo and former member of the Popular Will opposition party claimed in an interview with Reuters in Bogota that he largely organized the events adding that the armed struggle would continue and no dictator leaves power peacefully 89 On the evening of 7 August Maduro referred to this claim telling the people in his two hour national broadcast that a former police boss of the Venezuelan right has been claiming responsibility for leading the attack Today he was a special guest at the swearing in of Colombia s incoming president 90 The day after Lucchese tweeted that he didn t do anything and was one more soldier fighting for freedom unreliable source 29 On his Spanish language talk show Bayly Peruvian American journalist Jaime Bayly claimed that he had known about the attack during the week before and he supported it He warned that there would be more attacks coming up 91 A man who said he was a military dissident said that he had been part of a group of similar dissenters from all branches of the Venezuelan armed forces plotting a coup in Bogota to overthrow the Maduro government but had no plans of assassination and were not involved in the attack on 4 August having been infiltrated and disseminated some weeks before Instead he says that in April a group of civilians approached his group wanting to join forces and kill Maduro and he believes they will have performed the attack because of videos they showed of armed drones in Miami Bloomberg gives credence to this account because of the lack of organisation that the attack appeared to have 92 Suspects and arrests editSee also Detention of Juan Requesens and Fernando Alban Salazar nbsp Nestor Reverol shares information on the suspects Maduro and Reverol acting as the Ministry of Interior Justice and Peace released the names of wanted people that informants named as committing the attack The full names and photos of these people were released on wanted posters in Venezuela El Nacional reported fifteen names on the afternoon of Thursday 9 August Diario Panorama and other news sources reported the addition of more names before the end of the day and several more suspects were named and arrests were made in the following week 39 47 64 75 76 93 On 31 August the family of Juan Requesens went to the International Red Cross to give them information about the medical conditions of Requesens Here they also spoke to the media there about the other people also incarcerated who were likely experiencing the same treatment and noted that several of those prisoners had not even been to court 94 Requesens lawyer Joel Garcia also mentioned his concern for the other prisoners The sister of Colonel Zambrano said at this time that her brother had not been seen by family or lawyers either and that guards had told her he wouldn t be available for thirty days She was also concerned for the colonel s health because his custodians had been requesting antibiotics serums and diuretics for him A lawyer representing several of those accused of the attack said she had not been given access to any of them or their files 95 Another Justice First deputy Fernando Alban was later arrested on suspicion of plotting the magnicide on Friday 5 October He was detained in the SEBIN HQ also but was reported dead the following Monday 8 October Government officials claimed it was suicide which was disputed 96 his friends family opposition political parties and Luis Almagro Secretary General of the Organization of American States argue that the councilor s death was murder 97 98 99 Reactions editDomestic edit nbsp Press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly The Venezuelan government referred to the incident as a terrorist attack 100 101 A press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly written by Diosdado Cabello said that they fiercely condemn the vile and cowardly attack against the constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and that the act of terrorism shows the hopelessness and frustration of the fascist right also expressing solidarity with the patriotic soldiers who were injured 102 The leading opposition group in Venezuela Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre Venezuelan Liberation Front expressed confusion as to the nature of the incident saying that they can t know if it was an attack a fortuitous accident or any of the other stories being shared on social media 103 Two days after the explosions on Monday 6 August Maduro supporters rallied in downtown Caracas waving flags and with painted faces However Reuters reporters on the scene said that there were only a few hundred people most of whom were government workers and with several telling the journalists that they had been instructed to attend to support Maduro s image 104 There was immediate outcry among the opposition in the nation after Cabello incited a move to strip supposed plotters and National Assemblymen Julio Borges and Juan Requesens of their diplomatic immunity The National Assembly Vice President Julio Cesar Reyes es spoke out against the move saying that the constitution is clear and only the Supreme Court of Justice has the authority to order a deputy s arrest with congressional approval 44 On 9 August the National Assembly Venezuela s parliament requested that other nations ignore the arrest warrant on Borges saying that it was political in nature and should not be recognised by any foreign court 105 Chavista politician Sergio Sanchez reported that people voicing anti Maduro sentiment in the wake of the attack were being punished citing a family from Ciudad Tiuna es in Caracas who were evicted for making a political comment about the attack against the President adding that the government now relies on the fear of the people to maintain power 106 Following the release of a video of opposition leader Juan Requesens giving statements wearing underwear stained with faeces Venezuelans protested in the streets wearing underwear in a statement of moral support for Requesens 60 A group brought some of Requesens t shirts as an offering for his release among other tributes for political prisoners during a mass service held in San Cristobal the capital of his home state Tachira 107 The Bar Association of Venezuela es released a statement condemning the arrest and imprisonment of Requesens saying it was arbitrary and illegal campaigning for the government to release him and naming numerous and gravely serious objections to his imprisonment with the worst being the obscene protuberant impudent and even boastful dissemination of Requesens alleged self incrimination saying that they will seek action against the government and aim to prosecute those at fault once the Rule of Law has been restored to our beloved Venezuela 108 The opposition deputy Gilber Caro stood in front of the National Assembly on 14 August and stripped to his underwear to send support to Requesens He said that a man s dignity is not dependent on his state of dress 109 On the Monday 13 August a protest march called La Patria Llama The Fatherland Calls was held starting at the edge of Petare Miranda and travelled through the Greater Caracas area to Parque Carabobo station It was organised by Cabello for supporters of the Maduro government who want to bring to justice the extremists Cabello adding that these people would have to kill millions of Venezuelans to change the country 110 International edit The attack was condemned by the governments of El Salvador Nicaragua and Bolivia as well as the FARC a former revolutionary group from Colombia 111 Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel further announced that his nation would supply unlimited aid to Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution 112 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Maduro giving his best wishes to the President and to the soldiers injured in the incident 113 Uruguay and Spain both denounced the violence 114 The Spanish embassy also said that the crisis in Venezuela should be solved peacefully and democratically 115 Panama s president Juan Carlos Varela stated that accusing former President Santos is irresponsible of President Maduro and that on one hand we condemn violence but on the other hand we also condemn the fact that they are making baseless accusations against heads of state 116 Luis Almagro Secretary General of the Organization of American States stated that t he null credibility of the Maduro regime prevents knowing the truth of what happened and reiterated that he will always condemn the use of violence as a political tool 117 A Brazilian court case was ongoing regarding the travel of Venezuelan migrants across the Brazil Venezuela border and it was closed on Sunday 5 August the day after the attack with Judge Helder Barreto suspending restrictions but closing the border to Venezuelans until stability was achieved on both sides 118 It was reopened shortly after the official bar with the Brazilian Supreme Court saying the move was too reactionary and not justified commentators connecting the closure with an already strained situation gaining further raised tensions after the drone incident 119 The European Union promoted a thorough and transparent investigation and demanded the Venezuelan government to recognize the constitutional powers of the National Assembly including full respect for its prerogatives with respect to the parliamentary immunity of its members in accordance with the rights legislation and established constitutional procedures The Venezuelan government condemned the European Union s response stating that it is trapped in its irrational rhetoric and that the European body intends to ignore the terrorist actions 120 Vice President of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament Beatriz Becerra condemned the arrest of Juan Requesens stating Kidnapped tortured humiliated Juan Requesens a n elected deputy With all the constitutional guarantees abolished in Venezuela by a dictatorial regime Please Federica Mogherini and Antonio Tajani let s fulfill our commitment with a winner of the Sakharov Prize 121 The Federal Foreign Office of Germany condemned the arrest of Requesens calling it a clear violation of parliamentary immunity and demanded a thorough and transparent investigation 122 Colombia edit nbsp Juan Manuel Santos left in April 2018 At the time of the attack Santos was the President of Colombia The earliest and most prominent of blame accusations were those levelled against Colombia with Maduro specifically naming the Colombian President Santos as orchestrating his assassination saying he had no doubt about it 123 The Colombian government quickly denied this stating that Santos was too preoccupied with his granddaughter s baptism to think about overthrowing Maduro 3 Another statement added that it is customary for Maduro to blame Colombia for any kind of problem in his country and on the following Monday Santos himself tweeted to Maduro telling him not to worry himself also restating his own attendance at the more important baptism on the Saturday 124 Two days after the incident on Monday 6 August the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority announced a ban on drones and multirotors at the Presidential procession for Ivan Duque s inauguration the next day over fears of a similar incident with the prohibition extending to a radius and altitude of 2 nautical miles or 12 000 feet from Plaza Bolivar Bogota 125 There were no drone attacks on the day but it saw other attacks by FARC dissidents in which a police officer died and five people were injured 126 United States edit nbsp US representatives Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley left in June 2018 In response to Maduro s accusations the US National Security Advisor John R Bolton denied US involvement in the attack and suggested that the incident could be a pretext set up by the regime itself 24 Bolton also stated that if the Venezuelan government has hard information that they want to present to the US that would show a potential violation of U S criminal law they ll take a serious look at it 12 On Monday 6 August US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo restated that the United States government had no involvement 124 Telemundo reported that the US embassy told its citizens in Venezuela to find a safe place to stay maintain a low profile and avoid protests 127 James Story charge d affaires at the US embassy in Caracas met with Saab and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in the week following the incident 44 Arreaza told Fox News that Story said it was the will of the U S government to cooperate 128 In response to the United States stating it would cooperate Maduro said he would allow the FBI to investigate the incident saying that if the United States ratifies its offering for the FBI to cooperate in the investigations on the links in Florida regarding the plans of the 4 August assassination attempt and terrorist attack he would accept it 100 The United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was visiting the Colombian Venezuelan border at Cucuta on Wednesday 8 August to discuss the migrant crisis and commented that Maduro had caused the attack that he did this by creating this chaos and that everyone needs to be loud against Maduro and force him to leave 129 130 She also pledged US 9 million in aid to Colombia to help support the Venezuelan migrants there 131 Others edit The Venezuelan Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent winning satirical news site El Chiguire Bipolar posted an article the day after the detention of Juan Requesens showing a photoshopped image of Maduro holding a pokeball with the headline Nicol ash Maduro announces open season on capture of political prisoners likening him to the character Ash from Pokemon who has the mission to catch them all The site attributed the fictional quote We are going to catch them all the 150 deputies that are out there we already have Requesens now we are going after Borges and Meowth of Team Rocket to Nicol ash 132 Controversy editAssassination legitimacy edit The Guardian reported that the allegations made by Maduro were too neat and quoted commentators who doubt the assassination legitimacy International Crisis Group consultant Phil Gunson stated that t he official investigation is following course begin with the conclusions and work backwards and senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America David Smilde added that Maduro will use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces 18 Peruvian newspaper La Republica also wrote that s ome analysts suspect that the attack is a desperate farce and that i t would not be the first time that an unscrupulous government mounted this type of setup comparing it to the burning of the Reichstag The paper concluded that genuine attack or mounted farce basically it does not matter Maduro has taken things to this point which suggests bloody outcomes 9 The German international news service Deutsche Welle said that the only certainty about the attack is that t he only one benefitting from all this is Maduro himself noting that the President has claimed at least 20 coups or attacks against him but not a single one has done him harm They called the incident fake news because Maduro s regime emerges from every actual or supposed attack stronger than before relating this to the crisis in Venezuela by saying that e ach incident further distracts from increasingly unbearable problems in the country 133 Firefighter narrative edit According to initial reports after the explosion the Associated Press stated that firefighters attended the scene and claimed that a gas tank located in the Don Eduardo apartment block had exploded during the rally the explosion caught part of the building on fire and had to be put out 134 An independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano did conclude in regards to drone explosions that t he nearby building explosion was coincidental 3 Efecto Cocuyo visited the building and reported that all apartments received piped gas which does not require gas tanks They could not say if there was also a gas tank 135 Video later provided by Telemundo appeared to show a drone crash into the side of the apartment building 16 Days after the event Bellingcat s investigation stated that the report by firefighters was an early narrative and that a second drone crashed and exploded and is the most likely cause of the fire which the Venezuelan firefighters described 81 Use of drones edit Media outlets in Spain and Ecuador quoted a soldier in the rally who claimed he saw no drones but heard something like a grenade El Pais says Maduro s version of events is not credible 136 Former Venezuelan military aide Anthony Daquin talked to NTN24 about the incident and criticised the assassination theory explaining that the event was a no fly zone and any drones in the area would have been operated by the government citation needed Another theory was that an accidental drone failure caused the incident The Guardian reported that an independent investigation had been opened by the NGO Control Ciudadano and its head Rocio San Miguel a military expert which claimed that at least one drone belonged to the military who lost control of the device inflight Soldiers then shot it down 3 137 She repeated this statement later in a broadcast of Con La Luz with Efecto Cocuyo on 9 August saying that it was a mistake by the military and Presidential Honor Guard and I believe that they destroyed the drones 106 According to former Venezuelan Vice Admiral Mario Carratu claims that the drones were shot down by gunfire is inaccurate because p lastic explosives can t be detonated with bullets They more likely exploded prematurely due to poor preparations by the hit team 86 The Venezuelan ambassador to Barbados spoke on 7 August saying that drones are actually completely banned in Venezuela 138 In one of Maduro s television presentations he said that the drone that exploded at the stage was loaded with gunpowder and lead not C4 but the one that hit the building had gunpowder and C4 29 See also edit nbsp Venezuela portal Colombia Venezuela relations 2018 Bulawayo bombing an assassination attempt of a similar nature that occurred in Zimbabwe a month earlier Operation Gideon 2020 References edit Los delitos a imputar por atentado contra Maduro The charges of the Maduro attack in Spanish Archived from the original on 9 August 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2018 a b Dos civiles y dos militares son imputados con los mismos delitos que Requesens Two civilians and two soldiers charged with the same crimes as Requesens Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 19 August 2018 Retrieved 19 August 2018 a b c d e f g Joe Parkin Daniels 5 August 2018 Venezuela s Nicolas Maduro survives apparent assassination attempt The Guardian Retrieved 5 August 2018 a b c Martinez Alexander 5 October 2016 Maduro says he escaped drone assassination attempt blames Colombia Yahoo com Archived from the original on 24 August 2019 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Krygier Rachelle Faiola Anthony 4 August 2018 Maduro speech interrupted by explosions in what Venezuelan government calls a failed attack The Washington Post Retrieved 5 August 2018 Venezuelan President Unharmed After Assassination Attempt By Explosive Drones Msn com 19 April 2017 Archived from the original on 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Cohen Sandra 6 August 2018 Por que ha tanta desconfianca em torno da suposta tentativa de atentado contra Maduro G1 in Brazilian Portuguese Retrieved 6 August 2018 Venezuela vortice de inestabilidad en el Caribe El Nuevo Herald 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b Lauer Mirko 6 August 2018 Maduro bajo fuego Maduro under fire La Republica in Spanish Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b c Brocchetto Marilia 5 August 2018 Venezuelan President evacuated from stage after attempted attack CNN Retrieved 5 August 2018 En video Este seria el video del dron explotando cerca de Maduro On film Video of drone exploding near Maduro La Patilla in European Spanish 5 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b c Kraul Chris 5 August 2018 Venezuela says assassination attempt used drones loaded with 2 pounds of plastic explosives Los Angeles Times Retrieved 6 August 2018 Venezuela s Maduro object of attack but fine official Reuters 4 August 2018 Retrieved 4 August 2018 Venezuela President Maduro survives drone attack BBC News 4 August 2018 Retrieved 4 August 2018 Falvey Dan 4 August 2018 PANIC in Venezuela as EXPLOSIONS hit during speech by President Maduro Sunday Express Retrieved 4 August 2018 a b c Casey Nicholas Herrero Ana Vanessa 5 August 2018 Dos explosiones y una cosa voladora testimonios del presunto ataque contra Nicolas Maduro Two explosions and a flying thing accounts of the presumed attack on Nicolas Maduro The New York Times in Spanish Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b Herrero Ana Vanessa Casey Nicholas 5 August 2018 2 Blasts a Stampede and a Flying Thing Witnesses Tell of Attack on Maduro The New York Times Retrieved 7 August 2018 a b c EN VIDEO Asi reseno Telemundo el atentado con drones a Maduro On film Telemundo reveals the drones in attack on Maduro La Patilla in European Spanish 5 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b c Maduro assassination attempt What happened USA today Retrieved 6 August 2018 a b c Daniels Joe Parkin 5 August 2018 Foreign powers or hoax Who s behind Venezuela drone attack the Guardian Retrieved 5 August 2018 Confusion still abounds about what caused the explosion in Venezuela but experts warn Maduro will use it as an excuse to consolidate power either way Business Insider Retrieved 6 August 2018 Difunden videos de supuestos drones con explosivos del atentado contra Maduro Different videos of suspected explosive carrying drones in Maduro attack El Comercio in Spanish Retrieved 6 August 2018 Venezuela temporarily blocks critical DW documentary Deutsche Welle 6 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Redaccion Voz de America Maduro denuncia intento de ataque culpa a la derecha y a Santos Maduro denounces attack blames the right and Santos Voz de America in Spanish Retrieved 6 August 2018 Denuncian que 11 periodistas fueron detenidos durante atentado contra Maduro La Republica 5 August 2018 Retrieved 29 August 2018 a b Venezuela drone attack Six arrests made BBC News 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Autores del intento de asesinato contra Maduro seran juzgados severamente Orchestrators of assassination attempt on Maduro are playing hard Telemundo in Spanish Retrieved 7 August 2018 permanent dead link Venezuela says it has identified the masterminds behind the alleged drone assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro Business Insider Retrieved 9 August 2018 a b Venezuela says it has ID d mastermind accomplices in apparent Maduro assassination try CNN 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 Dron usado en supuesto atentado a Maduro cuesta hasta 8 000 dolares Drone used in suspected attack on Maduro cost 8000 Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish 5 August 2018 Archived from the original on 7 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 a b c With Sentence Included Caracas Chronicles 8 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Saab sobre atentado contra Maduro Fueron detenidas las dos personas que operaban los drones Saab on the Maduro attack We have detained the two people operating the drones La Patilla in European Spanish 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 Maduro to release proof of Colombian role in drone attack Al Jazeera Retrieved 7 August 2018 Nicolas Maduro on Twitter Twitter Retrieved 7 August 2018 a b Singer Florantonia 8 August 2018 Dos grupos que participaron en el atentado fueron entrenados entre abril y junio en una finca en Colombia Two groups who took part in the attack were trained in April and June in land in Colombia El Pais in Spanish Retrieved 10 August 2018 Esclarecimiento sobre el magnicidio en grado de frustracion Clarifying about the foiled magnicide MPPRIJP on Facebook in Spanish Retrieved 10 August 2018 Venezuelan President says Colombia is training terrorist opposition leaders Euro News 8 August 2018 Retrieved 12 August 2018 a b c d Venezuela s President Accuses Two Opposition Leaders of Links to Assassination Attempt TIME Archived from the original on 8 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Nicolas Maduro acusa directamente a Julio Borges y Requesens del atentado en su contra Video Nicolas Maduro directly accuses Julio Borges and Requesens of the attack on his life La Patilla in European Spanish 7 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Venezuela claims evidence proves Colombia was behind Maduro assassination attempt Colombia Reports 8 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 a b Informate 2 0 edicion 9 Agosto 2018 Issuu in Spanish 9 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Dictadura en pleno desarrollo Asi se llevaron a los golpes a los hermanos Requesens Dictatorship in full swing Taking the coup to the Requesens siblings La Patilla in European Spanish 7 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Venezuela s President Ties Opposition Leader to Drone Attack Time Archived from the original on 8 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 a b c d e Venezuela s Maduro Says 11 Hired Assassins Offered 50 Million Bloomberg 8 August 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2018 a b Violando la Carta Magna Constituyente cubana allana inmunidad a Requesens y Borges La Patilla in European Spanish 8 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 a b c d e Venezuela s Supreme Court Orders Arrest of Opposition Leader in Connection With Maduro Assassination Attempt TIME Archived from the original on 9 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Ecuador declares state of emergency over Venezuela migrant influx Al Jazeera Retrieved 10 August 2018 Rayder Russo y Osman Tabosky fueron senalados por oscar Perez como infiltrados Rayder Russo and Osman Tabosky were called out by oscar Perez as moles El Pitazo in European Spanish 7 August 2018 Archived from the original on 12 August 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2018 a b c Nestor Reverol revela nuevos rostros de los implicados en el magnicidio contra el Presidente Maduro Nestor Reverol reveals new images of the President Maduro magnicide suspects Noticias24 in Spanish Archived from the original on 12 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Reverol asegura miembros de Vente Venezuela participaron en atentado contra Maduro Reverol assures members of Come Venezuela participated in attack on Maduro Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 13 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Nestor Reverol vinculo resistencia Vente Venezuela con atentado Nestor Reverol loads resistance Come Venezuela with attack El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 10 August 2018 We should fear the use of killer drones like in Venezuela The Independent 11 August 2018 Archived from the original on 1 May 2022 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Jorge Rodriguez uno de los drones fue detonado desde Estados Unidos Jorge Rodriguez one of the drones was detonated from the US El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 11 August 2018 Moreno Losada Vanessa 6 August 2018 Desalojado el Hotel Pestana Caracas por procedimiento del Sebin Hotel Pestana Caracas searched in SEBIN investigation in Spanish Efecto Cocuyo a b c d News Friday August 10 Caracas Chronicles 11 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Kidnapped by SEBIN Caracas Chronicles 10 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Leon Ibis 10 August 2018 Diputados y estudiantes entregan documento ante la OEA y exigen libertad de Juan Requesens in Spanish Efecto Cocuyo Archived from the original on 15 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Jorge Rodriguez publico video con declaraciones Requesens Jorge Rodriguez publishes video with Requesens statements El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 11 August 2018 Juan Requesens fue drogado para obligarlo declarar video Juan Requesens was drugged to get video statements El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 11 August 2018 Requesens trasladado desde Helicoide a Palacio de Justicia Requesens transferred from Helicoide to Justice Palace El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 11 August 2018 Expertos coinciden en que Requesens pudo haber sido dopado NTN24 in Spanish 10 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 a b Estudiantes en ropa interior se solidarizan con Juan Requesens fotos y video La Patilla in European Spanish 11 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 Audiencia de Requesens fue diferida para el dia lunes Requesens hearing deferred to the Monday El Universal in Spanish Retrieved 11 August 2018 La hermana de Juan Requesens tilda de secuestro la detencion de su hermano Juan Requesens sister calls the arrest of her brother kidnap CNN en Espanol in Spanish 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Prision preventiva para el opositor venezolano Juan Requesens por presunta participacion en supuesto atentado contra Maduro Venezuelan opposition s Juan Requesens remanded in prison for alleged participation in supposed Maduro attack CNN en Espanol in Spanish 15 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 a b Fiscalia imputa ocho delitos al diputado Juan Requesens en audiencia de presentacion Prosecutor charges Rep Juan Requesens with eight crimes at presentation hearing Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Gobierno muestra nuevo video chucuto del interrogario a Juan Requesens Government shows new extra cut video of the interrogation of Juan Requesens Venezuela al dia in Spanish Retrieved 15 August 2018 Diputado Juan Requesens no recuerda confesion por atentado a Maduro Rep Juan Requesens doesn t remember confession of Maduro attack El Comercio in Spanish 15 August 2018 Retrieved 16 August 2018 Requesens no recuerda haber grabado video de confesion sobre el atentado a Maduro segun su abogado Requesens doesn t remember recording confession video about Maduro attack according to his lawyer El Nuevo Herald in Spanish Retrieved 16 August 2018 Delsa Solorzano Juan Requesens no recuerda haber grabado ese video Delsa Solorzano Juan Requesens doesn t remember recording that video El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 16 August 2018 Singer Florantonia 16 August 2018 Venezuela juzgara sin la prueba mas importante al opositor acusado de atentar contra Maduro Venezuela will judge Requesens accused of attacking Maduro without the most important evidence El Pais in Spanish Retrieved 16 August 2018 Siete irregularidades en detencion y audiencia del diputado Juan Requesens Seven irregularities of the detention and hearing of Rep Juan Requesens Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 16 August 2018 Retrieved 16 August 2018 Detienen a dirigente del Psuv por su presunta vinculacion con atentado a Maduro La Patilla in European Spanish 13 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Coronel Garcia Palomo desmiente participacion en los sucesos de la Avenida Bolivar La Patilla in European Spanish 12 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Uno de los abogados de Juan Requesens habla con CNN One of Juan Requesens lawyers talks to CNN CNN en Espanol in Spanish 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 a b Official Venezuelan general arrested in assassination plot CTV News 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 a b Saab anuncia privacion de libertad de Requesens antes de pronunciamiento del juez Saab announces deprivation of freedom for Requesens before trial proceedings begin Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 a b Venezuela processa 25 pessoas por atentado a Maduro Venezuela charges 25 with Maduro attack Agencia Brasil in Portuguese 22 August 2018 Retrieved 22 August 2018 Diosdado Cabello acusa a Ismael Garcia de estar implicado en atentado fallido contra Maduro Diosdado Cabello accuses Ismael Garcia of being implicated in the attack on Maduro Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish 16 August 2018 Retrieved 19 August 2018 Ismael Garcia dejo Primero Justicia para poder participar en regionales Ismael Garcia leaves Primero Justicia to participate in regional elections El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 19 August 2018 Venezuela acosada por la persecucion politica Venezuela ridden with political persecution El Litoral in Spanish Retrieved 19 August 2018 Venezuela Nous ne reculerons pas devant le terrorisme et devant l oligarchie colombienne Venezuela We will not cower to terrorism or the Colombian oligarchy Caraib Creole News in Haitian Creole Archived from the original on 25 August 2018 Retrieved 24 August 2018 a b Waters Nick 7 August 2018 Did Drones Attack Maduro in Caracas Bellingcat Retrieved 8 August 2018 Double Attack Against Armando Info Caracas Chronicles 21 August 2018 Retrieved 26 August 2018 Inside the August plot to kill Maduro with drones CNN 14 March 2019 Retrieved 14 March 2019 CNN revela detalles exclusivos del plan para asesinar a Maduro con drones El Comercio in Spanish 15 March 2019 Retrieved 15 March 2019 Uno de los presuntos autores del fallido atentado con drones contra Maduro confiesa a la CNN La Sexta in Spanish 15 March 2019 Retrieved 15 March 2019 a b Venezuelan Expert Maduro Vulnerable to New Attacks Voice of America Retrieved 11 August 2018 Herreria Carla 4 August 2018 Venezuelan President Blames Alleged Assassination Attempt on Colombian President HuffPost Retrieved 6 August 2018 Joseph Romeo 7 August 2018 Operacion Fenix Claims Responsibility for the Venezuelan Drone Attack Read the Full Statement Via News Agency Retrieved 7 August 2018 Brian Ellsworth Carlos Vargas 7 August 2018 Ex city police chief claims role in Venezuela drone attack Reuters Retrieved 8 August 2018 Former city police chief claims role in Venezuela drone attack Nation News Archived from the original on 8 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Jaime Bayly asegura que sabia todo sobre supuesto atentado a Maduro Bayly says he knew all about supposed attack on Maduro NTN24 in Spanish 7 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 Inside the Coup Plotting Before the Venezuela Drone Assassination Attempt Bloomberg 17 August 2018 Retrieved 17 August 2018 Maduro anuncio nombres de implicados en presunto magnicidio Maduro announces names of suspects in presumed magnicide El Nacional in Spanish Retrieved 9 August 2018 El Nacional on Twitter Twitter in Spanish Retrieved 9 August 2018 Emiten orden de captura contra siete implicados en magnicidio frustrado contra Maduro They release arrest warrants on seven suspects in foiled Maduro magnicide Panorama in Spanish Archived from the original on 10 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Un general venezolano detenido por atentado contra Maduro A Venezuelan general is detained for the attack on Maduro Panorama in Spanish Archived from the original on 15 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Quien es quien en el atentado fallido segun la version del Gobierno nacional Who s who in the failed assassination attempt according to the government Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish 10 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Venezuela implica a tercer alto oficial en ataque a Maduro Venezuela implicates a third high ranking guard in Maduro attack America TeVe in Spanish 22 August 2018 Retrieved 23 August 2018 Familiares de Juan Requesens entregaron documento ante la Cruz Roja Internacional El Pitazo in Spanish Archived from the original on 10 September 2020 Retrieved 1 September 2018 Detenidos por atentado fallido contra Maduro no recibiran visitas por 30 dias Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish Archived from the original on 2 September 2018 Retrieved 1 September 2018 Caracas Associated Press in 9 October 2018 Fernando Alban UN to investigate death in custody of Venezuelan politician the Guardian Retrieved 12 October 2018 Asi titularon medios internacionales la muerte de Fernando Alban El Nacional 8 October 2018 Retrieved 9 October 2018 Las reacciones por la muerte del concejal venezolano Fernando Alban El Mundo El Espectador 8 October 2018 Retrieved 9 October 2018 Smith Scott Sanchez Fabiola 8 October 2018 Venezuela Caracas opposition councilman dies in jail The Washington Post Associated Press Archived from the original on 9 October 2018 Retrieved 12 October 2018 a b Maduro abre la puerta para que el FBI investigue en Venezuela el ataque con dron en su contra BBC Mundo in Spanish 12 August 2019 Retrieved 1 April 2019 Venezuela s Maduro target of drone attack but unharmed government The Hindu 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Comunicado de la ANCV ante el atentado de Caracas de 2018 Statement from the ANCV about the 2018 Caracas attack PBS in Spanish Archived from the original on 15 January 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2018 El Movimiento Nacional Soldados de Franelas se adjudica atentado contra Maduro The Shirt Soldiers movement claim attack on Maduro La Opinion in Spanish 5 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Venezuela s Maduro rallies supporters after drone blasts Reuters 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 AN pide desconocer orden de captura contra Borges NA asks to ignore Borges arrest warrant Diario Panorama in Spanish Archived from the original on 10 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 a b Atentado o error las hipotesis del ataque a Maduro segun Rocio San Miguel y Sergio Sanchez Attack or mistake the theories of the Maduro attack according to Rocio San Miguel and Sergio Sanchez Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish 10 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 TV Venezuela on Twitter in Spanish Retrieved 13 August 2018 Comunicado del Colegio de Abogados de Caracas por la detencion del diputado Juan Requesens Statement from the Bar Association in Caracas on the detention of deputy Juan Requesens La Patilla in Spanish 11 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 Venezuela Diputado opositor Gilber Caro se desnudo en Asamblea Nacional Venezuela Opposition legislator Gilber Caro strips in National Assembly El Comercio in Spanish 14 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Cabello desmintio que Juan Requesens haya sido agredido Cabello denied Juan Requesens attacked El Universal in Spanish 13 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 Venezuelan President Maduro blames US backers and Colombia after drone attack News sky com 1 January 1970 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Cuba Expresa Plena Solidaridad Y Apoyo Irrestricto Al Presidente Maduro Y A La Revolucion Bolivariana Y Chavista Cubaminrex Cuba expresses complete solidarity and unlimited aid to President Maduro and the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution in Spanish Minrex gob cu Archived from the original on 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Erdogan backs ally Maduro after assassination bid 6 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Hechos de Violencia in Venezuela Moment of violence in Venezuela Uruguay Department of the Exterior in Spanish Archived from the original on 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 Comunicado 103 Venezuela Ministry of Foreign Affairs European Union and Cooperation in Spanish 5 August 2018 Archived from the original on 11 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Panama califica de irresponsables las acusaciones de Maduro contra Santos Panama calls Maduro s Santos accusations irresponsible La Patilla in European Spanish 9 August 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2018 Luis Almagro duda de la version oficial del atentado contra Nicolas Maduro Luis Almagro doubts the official story of the Nicolas Maduro attack La Patilla in European Spanish 6 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 Phillips Dom 6 August 2018 Brazil judge shuts border to Venezuelan migrants fleeing hunger and hardship The Guardian Retrieved 7 August 2018 Venezuela crisis Brazil briefly shuts border to migrants BBC News 7 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Gobierno bolivariano tilda de injerencia reaccion de UE por atentado a Maduro La Patilla in European Spanish 10 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 Beatriz Becerra pidio a Parlamento Europeo atender caso de Juan Requesens El Nacional in Spanish 10 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 Alemania repudia detencion de diputado Requesens y pide el correcto esclarecimiento del ataque contra Maduro La Patilla in European Spanish 13 August 2018 Retrieved 13 August 2018 Is Venezuela threat to the US and Colombia a serious one Washington Examiner 6 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 a b Venezuela says it has ID d mastermind accomplices in apparent Maduro assassination try CNN 6 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Prohiben drones durante acto de posesion de Duque en Colombia Ban on drones during the swearing in of Duque in Colombia Tele13 in Spanish 7 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Un policia muerto y cinco heridos en un triple ataque de disidentes de las FARC One officer dead and five injured in a FARC dissident triple attack El Espanol in Spanish 7 August 2018 Retrieved 9 August 2018 Embajada de EEUU en Caracas emite alerta de seguridad US embassy in Caracas distributes security warning Telemundo in Spanish Archived from the original on 7 August 2018 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Venezuela seeks US extradition of alleged drone attack mastermind FOX News 9 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Phillips Tom Daniels Joe Parkin 9 August 2018 Venezuela Maduro critic rejects absurd claim he plotted to kill president The Guardian Retrieved 10 August 2018 Nikki Haley blames Venezuelan crisis on leftist president It s time for Maduro to go FOX News 9 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Haley pledges 9 million to Colombia Venezuelan migrants McClatchy DC Bureau Retrieved 8 August 2018 Nicol ash empieza su temporada de captura de presos politicos Nicol ash Maduro opens political prisoner capture season El Chiguire Bipolar in Spanish 8 August 2018 Retrieved 12 August 2018 Venezuela on the verge of imploding Deutsche Welle Retrieved 6 August 2018 The Latest Expert says Maduro may use attack for purge Associated Press 5 August 2018 Retrieved 6 August 2018 Un dron una bombona una onda expansiva Lo que se conoce sobre el atentado fallido del 4Ago A drone a firefighter a stampede What we know about the failed attack on 4 August Efecto Cocuyo in Spanish 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Surgen dudas supuesto atentado contra Maduro Doubts arise surrounding the supposed attack on Maduro La Republica in Spanish 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 Control Ciudadano Quienes somos Control Ciudadano About us Control Ciudadano in Spanish Retrieved 9 August 2018 Caracas warns Barbados against lifting ban on drones Barbados Today Archived from the original on 11 August 2018 Retrieved 11 August 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2018 Caracas drone attack amp oldid 1210182192, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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